School’s Out For Summer

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schools out for summer

No more pencils,
No more books.
No more teachers giving dirty looks.

As a teacher I look as forward to summer as much as my students. While I sincerely love my job, there’s something special about summer. The ability to unplug, slowdown, and really smell (and taste!) the coffee is something I start to look forward to as the days begin to warm up. This year that has taken a lot longer than usual, but finally summer is here!

During the summer I get to be a stay at home mom; I enjoy the opportunity to actually have play dates for my boys, go to the gym (hopefully), read nonacademic books, and be with my kids a lot more than usual. Both of my boys have July birthdays, so there’s always the excitement to plan their party and celebrate their growth. The first few weeks are always consumed with going to the beaches, playgrounds, libraries, hanging out with friends and family, and taking walks to get froyo.SUPER SUMMER SCHEDULEMy older son goes to camp, which helps maintain the structure he needs and allows me the time to focus on the little guy. During the week he doesn’t have camp, so I create a schedule to make the days less like a blur and more meaningful. Being in education, I love alliterations.  Check out the sample schedule I’ve followed with him the past few summers. I also always try to make a new summer bucket list of activities to do: some things with my kids, some with my husband, and some just for me.  Having the summers “off” means I deserve more Me Time than I get during the school year.

However, by the time the calendar turns to August, my enthusiasm starts to peter out. This is the time of the summer when the real me comes out.  I let my hair down and re-evaluate my goals from the previous year and start to make lists upon lists for the upcoming school year. It’s the time I get most inspired. For teachers, September is the mark of the new year, not January, so it’s no surprise that the dog days of summer are the “new” December. I guess you can take the teacher out of the school, but you can’t take the school out of the teacher.

What changes in your life during the summer?

 

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Maria Sette
Maria is a full-time mom, teacher, wife, daughter, and sister, who feels pulled in too many directions! Her older son Michael took over 24 hours to be born, and at six-months-old was diagnosed with allergies to dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, shrimp, and wheat…all after exclusively nursing because she was SO SURE that would help him be a healthy kid. Luckily at age 1, he began to outgrow some of his allergies. Fingers crossed the others will soon follow because that plus a husband who doesn’t eat any veggies and Maria always battling her weight makes for three meals to prepare every night. Luckily, Christopher, her younger son, is a cooperative eater! As someone who has always been committed to making positive change, Maria uses her privilege and position as an educator and mom to work toward a most anti-racisit, equitibile, and inclusive world. Recently, Maria has even started getting up at 5am to workout in her basement. (Thank you pandemic living!) She is addicted to reading chicklit on her Kindle app in the dark, most Trader Joe’s products, and watching TikToks.

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